Clare Balding joins BT Sport presenting team, lands chat show

Clare Balding is the latest big name presenter to sign a deal with BT Vision and will host her own BT Sport chat show.

Balding, who was one of the main anchors of the BBC's London 2012 Olympic coverage, has landed a weekly magazine series that will feature interviews, debates and chat about the latest hot topics in the world of sport.

The latest project is on top of Balding's commitments as the face of Channel 4 racing and the host of new BBC Saturday night series Britain's Brightest.

"I'd like to thank BT for giving me the opportunity to present my own magazine show," said Balding.

"I'm enthused by BT's vision for sports coverage in the future and particularly their support of women's sport, an issue about which I feel very strongly. This is an exciting new venture for me and I can't wait to get started."

BT Sport launches this summer and will be centred around the acquisition of Premier League football rights. The channel will show 38 live games and gets 'first pick' on 18 of the matches, for the next three seasons. It also has rights for rugby union and women's tennis.

Jake Humphrey quit his role as the BBC's F1 anchor last year to head up BT Sport's football coverage.

BT Sport boss Simon Green said: "We're thrilled to have signed Clare for BT Sport. She excels at presenting a variety of different sports and she showed last summer what an accomplished live performer she is, so we wanted to give her an opportunity to anchor her own weekly flagship show for BT Sport."